By Rabbi Yosef Weiss
R’ Aharon Kotler
In the 1950’s, the philanthropist Mr. J.C. Cohen of Florida, established a charitable foundation. One man was appointed to oversee his contributions and serve as a gatekeeper for the various collectors. It was thus practically impossible to directly approach Mr. Cohen. Each time R’ Aharon Kotler traveled to Florida, he would pay a visit to Mr. Cohen’s secretary, hoping to raise money for the Lakewood Yeshiva; and each time he came away without success.
Mr. Cohen’s secretary was polite, but firm in his refusal to commit funds to the Yeshiva. On one fundraising trip to Florida, R’ Aharon took R’ Y. Yitzchak Spiegel along. One afternoon, R’ Y. Yitzchak davened mincha in a local shul where he spotted a young boy reciting kaddish after davening, obviously struggling with the pronunciation of the words. Feeling pity for the poor young orphan, he introduced himself and gently offered to teach him how to recite the kaddish.
The boy’s eyes lit up as he gratefully accepted the offer. He explained that he had recently lost his mother and had trouble reciting the kaddish properly. R’ Y. Yitzchak sat with him and patiently went over every word of the kaddish until the boy felt confident that he could recite it clearly. The boy thanked R’ Y. Yitzchak profusely.
“You know,” said R’ Y. Yitzchak, “I didn’t catch your name.” The boy replied, “My name is Cohen.” “Are you related to Mr. J.C. Cohen?” asked R’ Y. Yitzchak. The boy confirmed that J.C. was indeed his father. When R’ Y. Yitzchak asked if he could introduce him to his father, he eagerly obliged. As they entered the Cohen home, J.C. looked inquiringly at R’ Y. Yitzchak.
His son exclaimed, “Dad, this man just taught me how to say kaddish!”
J.C. thanked R’ Y. Yitzchak, explaining, “I recently lost my wife, Dora. I didn’t realize my son was having such a hard time with the kaddish. It was very kind of you to take time from your trip to teach a child you don’t even know.”
J.C. then inquired why R’ Y. Yitzchak had come to Florida. He explained that he had come with this rebbe, R’ Aharon Kotler, to raise money for a new building for the Yeshiva. J.C. agreed to meet with R’ Aharon, saying, “I usually let my secretary take care of my donations, but this time, I am anxious to meet your rebbe. Thanks to your great kindness to my son, you’ve certainly caught my attention.”
The result of that meeting was a $72,000 donation (then a huge sum) towards the purchase of a new building for the Lakewood Yeshiva... in memory of J.C.’s wife, Dora. Until today, when walking into Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, one can see a sign “In Memory of Dora Cohen.” (Excerpted from the book – “Visions of Greatness, Volume 7”).
Reprinted from the Parshas Vayeitzei 5785 email of The Weekly Vort.
